PATTERN OF UNDERGRADUATES’ PARTICIPATION IN ONLINE DISCUSSION FORUM

Journal of Information Technology Management ISSN #1042-1319 A Publication of the Association of Management

PATTERN OF UNDERGRADUATES’ PARTICIPATION IN THE ONLINE DISCUSSION FORUM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ,

TELLA, ADEYINKA UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, NIGERIA [email protected] or [email protected]

ISAH, ABDULMUMIN UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, NIGERIA [email protected]

ABSTRACT The paper examined the pattern of undergraduates’ participation in the online discussion forum at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. A total of 745 undergraduate students selected from right faculties out of the ten faculties that made up University of Ilorin, Nigeria constituted the population of the study. Through a survey design, questionnaire was administered to gather data from the respondents. Four research questions were developed and answered by the study. The results indicated that respondents from faculty of Communication and information sciences are participating in the online forum and they are dully committed to it than respondents from other faculties. While respondents from Faculty of CIS have online discussion forum organised for the various courses offered in the faculty, respondents from other faculties depend largely on online forum of their disciplines’ association. Four prominent pattern of participation were identified. These are Socratic questioning, sharing of personal opinion and experiences, brainstorming and reaction posting. Furthermore, the study revealed an in-depth participation in the online forum by respondents’ from faculty of CIS with the majority making postings on a daily basis. Similarly, a lower percentage of respondents usually read and responds to posts received with the highest percentage recorded by respondents from Faculty of CIS. The results confirm encouragement of intellectual support in terms of sharing of knowledge and ideas between participants as part of the most common benefits. Incessant power outage and time factor based on tight schedule were identified as part of the problems participants encounter in the online forum. The paper made a more conscious effort in institutionalizing online discussion forum, creation and formulation of policies guiding the participants, introduction of user education together with conscious training of lecturer on online discussion forum for university lecturers in Nigeria Increase in students’ participation in the online discussion forum will always increase learning outcomes and achievement. To improve students’ participation in the online forum, the University authority should provide enough free Internet facilities/ outlets within the university community just as it is done in developed countries and some part of Africa especially South Africa. Moreover, universities around the world who have not being using online discussion forum to facilitate learning should consider doing so particularly those who have not put customised e-learning platform in place in their institution.

Keywords: Online discussion forum, electronic discussion, online learning, online participation, Content contribution, Undergraduate students, University of Ilorin.

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lacking. In the light of this, this study is considered INTRODUCTION significant in view of the fact that its’ outcomes will help bridge the already identified gaps thereby making Many online instructors, in the hope of literature available on the subject matter from the improving student participation, include discussion population of Nigeria undergraduate students. Additional forums in their online courses. The practise of using justification for this study is based on [26] online discussion forum for deepen students’ knowledge recommendation that there is still much more to learn of course is prominent in (e.g. Universities in Europe, about students’ online discussion practices and that America, Asia, and Southern Africa). It has been studies similar to his own will be beneficial to facilitators observed that increase in student participation in an online who are looking to improve student engagement in their course results in increased learning [24]. Online online courses. It is hoped that the outcomes from the discussion is defined as the process where learners and study will provide a framework for improving the faculty educators are actively engaged in on-line text-based information literacy programme and specifically students’ communication with each other [14]. Effective participation in the discussion forum as a way of participation occurs where such on-line communication improving the students’ information literacy skills. facilitates, amongst learners: the development of a deep understanding of the material through sharing, and BACKGROUND ON UNIVERSITY critically evaluating one's own and others' ideas. Understanding how students participate in an OF ILORIN, NIGERIA online course is the first step to determine how best to Ilorin is the capital of in the North engage students. According to [33], online participation central Nigeria and the gateway to the Northern and the and content contribution are pillars of the Internet Southern parts of Nigeria. The University of Ilorin is revolution and are core activities for younger generations located in Ilorin, Kwara State, and is one of the seven online. Similarly, [4] pointed out that online learning third generation Universities established by the Federal environments based on student-instructor and student- government of Nigeria in August 1975. The University of student interactions are widely used in higher education. Ilorin has grown from three faculties in 1976 to eleven Active online student interaction is a significant predictor faculties with 60 academic departments today. The of perceived learning [25], learning outcomes, and student university is currently rated as the best university in satisfaction [6]. Interactivity is defined as "a process- Nigeria and 55 th in Africa following the world university related variable concerning responsiveness" [23:84]. ranking released in January 2010. Ten faculties made up Research has indicates that "with effective e-learning the University of Ilorin. These are faculties of technologies we can create active, engaged, collaborative, Agriculture, Art, Basic Medical Sciences, Business and and inquiry-based learning opportunities"[30]. Social Sciences, Clinical Sciences, Communication and Consequent on the above, the issue of students’ Information Sciences, Education, Engineering participation in the online discussion forum is being Technology, Law and Science. taking very seriously in the Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences, University of Ilorin, Nigeria; and effort is currently being put in place to enforce it. Part LITERATURE REVIEW of these efforts includes the regulation that: each According to [14], participation within on-line student’s participation in the forum attracts 5% of the discussions is defined as the process where learners and overall score in the examination and that each student educators are actively engaged in on-line text-based should have a laptop beginning from 2010/2011 session. communication with each other. Effective participation The faculty wishes to know whether this effort is yielding occurs where such on-line communication facilitates, a positive result in terms of facilitating learning, deepen amongst learners, the development of a deep students’ knowledge in their courses and promoting understanding of the material through sharing and information literacy skills of the students in the faculty. critically evaluating one's own and others' ideas, and Generally, studies on undergraduates’ where connections are made within elements of the participation in the online discussion forum in the Nigeria learning material or with independently sourced material university context are lacking. Specifically, studies on (justified through research and analysis). Within the participation of students in the online discussion forum in scope of this paper, on-line participation will be analysed the context of the University of Ilorin are also currently

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in the context of Internet based discussions within such as synchronous or asynchronous tools provided new internet-based learning environments only. opportunities for students to participate in online courses, Learner participation has been discussed widely but, participation in the web-based instructional as a key part of online learning. It has been environment tends to be lower while comparing to conceptualized differently in several studies. For example, participation in the face-to-face courses. There are several [16] mentioned six different ways of conceptualization: factors affecting learner participation that was mentioned accessing e-learning environments, writing, quality in online environments. There have still not been enough writing, writing and reading, actual and perceived writing findings to answer general questions about these factors, and taking part and joining in a dialogue. After analyzing especially impact of student characteristics in online several related studies in the literature, [16:1761] discussion due to continuous variations in CMC proposed following definition of online learner applications, methods of study, instructions, roles of participation: “Online learner participation is a process of teachers and students [22]. As a result, the relationship learning by taking part and maintaining relations with between participation and interaction and learning others”. It is a complex process comprising doing, outcomes is a complex phenomenon and there is need for communicating, thinking, feeling and belonging, which more studies related to this phenomenon [21]. This study occurs both online and offline. Learner participation is a response to more studies agitated for by the [22]; measuring interaction with peers and teachers in online except that the study did not attempt to find relationship environments can enhance learning outcomes. between participation and interaction and learning Researchers expressed that participation positively affect outcomes but rather the participation pattern and it learning, quality assessment of assignments, achievement, benefits on participants. and satisfaction and retention rates in the literature [16]. Several previous related studies have been For example, [29] stated that both quality and quantity of conducted. However, most of these studies were interaction with the instructor and peers are much more conducted especially in Europe, with very few in Africa crucial to the success of online courses and student and none in Nigeria specifically. Zukerman et al. (33) satisfaction than to success and satisfaction in traditional investigated participation patterns, users' contributions courses. Davies and Graff [7] examined the relationship and gratification mechanisms, as well as the gender between the level of online participation and student differences of Israeli learners in the Scratch online grades (i.e. high, medium, low, fail). They concluded that community. The findings showed that: Participation students achieving high or medium passing grades patterns reveal two distinct participation types - "project engaged more actively than students achieving low creators" and "social participators", suggesting different passing grades and also students achieving low passing users' needs. Community members gratified "project grades were more active than students who failed in the creators" and "social participators" for their investment – several modules of courses even though greater online using several forms of community feedback. Gratification interaction did not lead significantly to higher at the user level was given both to "project creators" and performance. Another study was conducted to analyze "social participators" – community members added them discussions in courses delivered completely online by as friends. The majority of the variance associated with [21] who found that students perceived greater quality and community feedback was explained by seven predictors. quantity of learning as a result of participating in the However, gratification at the project level was different discussions. for the two participation types - active "project creators" The nature of online discussion forums offers received less feedback on their projects, while active students the time to reflect on the topic of discussion and "social participators" received more. Project feedback thereby encourages a more in depth and constructive positively correlated with social participation investment, dialogue [8, 11]. While much of the online or blended but negatively correlated with project creation investment. delivery of courses in higher education is didactic in A possible explanation given by the researcher is that nature, the distinctive asynchronous platform can be used community members primarily left feedback to their to promote peer learning [13, 17]. Incorporating on-line friends. discussions into a curriculum should therefore not be a Yukselturk [32] analyzed the factors that affect decision to be made lightly or simply the result of adding student participation in discussion forum under the two new technology to a course [18]. main purposes. The first purpose was to examine the The importance of participation and interaction relationship between the students’ individual in online learning is extensive in the literature and this demographics and categories of students’ participation cannot be over emphasised. Caspi et al. [5] mentioned level (inactive, moderate, and active) in discussion forum that computer mediated communication (CMC) media of an online course. The second purpose was to examine

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the students' views about reasons for low level of communication channel for distance students, facilitate interaction in discussion forum. A total of 196 students learning process, and assist them in preparing for who attended computers systems and structures course of examination. The findings of the research indicate that online certificate program were included in the study. The there was low participation of students in online tutorials, data was collected at the beginning and at the end of the in terms of students’ contribution to online discussion course through online survey and semi structured forum and to work on assignments. Findings of the interviews. The descriptive and inferential statistical questionnaire survey indicate that most respondents techniques were used to analyze the quantitative data. The perceive that tutors have addressed students’ questions on content analysis method was used to analyze the topics appropriately and given motivation to students to qualitative data. The results of the study indicated that learn. One constraint in online tutorials relates to slow three student characteristics (achievement, gender and feedback from tutors to students, while access, costs, and weekly hours of Internet use) showed a significant computer skills do not hamper students’ participation in relationship with students’ participation level in online tutorials. Some recommendations are presented. discussion forum of the online course. Also, the findings First, tutors are advised to give feedback immediately to emphasized some of the critical issues that should be respond to students’ queries on email. taken into account in designing online discussions, such Harris and Sandor [12] presented a framework of as, students’ workload and responsibilities, progress of the online discussion forum as a student centred peer interaction over the Internet taking more time, planned earning environment. In particular, the paper presents and structured instructional activities in discussion forum. research findings relating to student views on Similar to [32] study, there are several studies participation and interaction in these online discussion that take interest in factors affecting the participation in forums. Data was gathered through semi-structured online discussion. Cheung and Hew [6] discussed factors interviews with students. The findings support the that are fallen into three different categories: attributes of discussed framework because it allows students to take an the online discussion, role of the facilitator and design of active role in their learning and enriches their learning discussion activities. Moreover, there are other important experience. In summary, the framework provides a viable aspects that influence student’s participation and one of means of implementing peer learning in an online them is related to the differences in students’ learning environment. Yang, Li, Tan and Teo [31] stated demographics and abilities in online courses. For that anecdotal evidence indicates an online discussion example, [10] mentioned that students taking online forum may not be utilized to its full potential in enhancing courses with a high level of interaction tended to be the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching due to a lower different from the students taking the courses with a low than expected student participation rate. The researchers level of interaction in regard to age, gender and previous identify the motivational behavioural factors influencing qualifications. Although the results were not statistically students' intention to participate in an online discussion significant, high interactive students were generally forum (ODF). Drawing on the literature on social younger, male and having had higher educational psychology and applying the theory of reasoned action, qualifications. Balaji [2] presented a study that they develop a conceptual model of intention to contributes to the understanding of the effectiveness of participate in an online discussion forum and empirically online discussion forum in student learning. A conceptual tested the hypotheses in a cross-sectional quantitative model based on ‘theory of online learning’ and ‘media survey. The findings indicate that expectancy on hedonic richness theory’ was proposed and empirically tested. outcome and utilitarian outcome and peer pressure The results show that the perceived richness of online positively influence the participation intention of students. discussion forum has significant positive effect on student Also, the perceived importance of learning positively participation and interaction, and learning, when used moderates the relationship between utilitarian outcome along with traditional classroom lecture. Implications of expectancy and participation intention. these findings are discussed as they provide important Peachly et al. [21] presented an empirical study guidelines for management educators. involving initiatives that encouraged students to log onto Maya and Zuhairi [19] presented findings of a online courses in entrepreneurship delivered by the research on participation in four online learning courses University of Glamorgan. The aim was to explore items offered by UT Faculty of Economics. The purpose of the of interest to the online students that may increase study was to have an understanding of how distance participation in the forums and hence potentially enhance students participate and which factors influence engagement with the course module. The initiative was participation in online tutorials. Online tutorial has been also thought to assist in the formation of an online used by Universitas Terbuka (UT) to provide two-way learning community. The study involved experimentation

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by the online tutor with subsequent observation of the constructivist teaching approaches such as asynchronous behavioural patterns of the students. This data was discussions and ill-structured project-based learning augmented by statistical data made available via the VLE activities, and perceived collaborative online learning software. The dedicated social and games forums within their context as a complex, more demanding and attracted 54% of the total postings for the module. The time-consuming experience. findings suggest including online quizzes and games that As said earlier and as evident from the above are relevant to the taught subject can increase the previous reviewed studies, studies on the participation of participation levels of the students and possibly enhance students’ in online discussion forum is lacking in the the learning process. The findings of this study may Nigeria universities context. In the light of this, the inform the design, development and delivery of online current study will: learning programmes. The findings also inform strategies 1. Examine the pattern of University of Ilorin of good practice in online moderation and may help to undergraduate students’ participation in online reduce withdrawal rates, which are typically high in the discussion forum. The specific objectives of the field of e-learning. study are: Coming to Africa, [9] described the experiences 2. Find out the extent of students’ participation in gathered in a Masters of Adult Education course at online discussion forum. University of (UB), where 26 students of the 3. Determine the benefits of online forum to the and the University of Georgia students. (UGA) engaged in discussions within the University of 4. Identify the problems or hindrances to students’ Botswana Learning Management System WebCT. participation in online forum. Individual participation patterns in the discussions varied widely in this course. Based on variables found in the METHODOLOGY literature, student participation patterns were analysed – both in terms of quantity (messages read and written) and quality (status of conversational moves and level of Design and Method critical thinking). Results show that culture or This study adopts a pure quantitative method in membership of a specific group did not seem to influence line with positivist paradigm. A survey design was participation patterns. Gender was the major influencing chosen in the conduct of the study. This design allows the variable for participation patterns in terms of both researcher to drawn on large sample which is quantity and quality. Other influencing variables were representative of the total population [3]. This is to be course design, assessment of discussions and the presence able to cover a substantial percentage of students at the of a learning community. Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences, Hodgkinson-Williams and Mostert [15] proposed University of Ilorin. Moreover, survey approach was an underlying epistemological perspective on and an chosen because it is the most prominent approach used in informing learning theory of online debating and its previous related studies e.g. [26, 31]. potential as a pedagogic strategy to encourage participation in online learning environments. The paper Population and Sample reports on student and staff perceptions of an online The population of the study comprised the entire debate used during a BEd (Hons) course at a South students of the Faculty of Communication and African university. The findings underline the importance Information Sciences at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. of providing explicit procedures to pave the way for There are five departments in this faculty. These are student participation and highlight the potential value of Computer Science, Library and Information Science, an online debate as a pedagogic strategy to support the Information Communication Science, Telecommunication development of argumentation and to encourage Science and Mass Communication. A purposive reflexivity. sampling technique was embarked upon to select 50 In , [1] adopted a qualitative case-study students each from the department that have students approach to examine the attitudes, experiences, and more than 50 while census of students was taken in perceptions of undergraduate students who were enrolled departments with lesser number of students. Only in an online, collaborative learning course at a Ghanaian Telecommunication with 10 students and Information private university. Data sources included surveys, student Communication Science (ICS) departments with and instructor journal entries, email records, individual 38students fall into this category and all their students interviews, and Web-server logs. The study found that the were censured to take part in the study. Eventually, 198 students did not respond favourably to online

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students took part in the study. The demographic Procedure of Administration information of the respondents revealed 85 (43%) were The researcher personally administered the female while 113 (57%) were male. Furthermore, the age questionnaire to the respondents. The fact that the of the respondents ranged between 19 – 35 years with an researchers were lecturer in the faculty where the study average age of 27years. was conducted enables the easy administration of the questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered in 5 Instrument batches with each department constituting a batch. The A self-designed questionnaire was used for the exercise took three days. Out of 198 copies of collection of data on the study. The use of questionnaire questionnaires administered, 195 copies were returned for data collection is in line with the quantitative approach completely filled representing 98.5% return rate. These used in this study. The design of the questionnaire was were used for data analysis on the study. The study informed by the objective and research questions focused commenced in March and was completed in May 2010. in the study. Items in the questionnaire were adapted from various previous related studies [e.g. 26, 31]. The DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS questionnaire was divided into two sections. Section A requires the respondents’ demographic information Descriptive statistics including percentages and including gender, department, and age. Section B frequency count together with Friedman Test were used contained the items. This is sub-divided into parts based for the analysis of data. The results obtained are presented on the objectives and research questions. The description as follows. of the parts goes thus: The demographic information of respondents Part 1: Pattern of Participation – This part who took part in the study in table 1 reveals that 495 featured 2 items where the respondents indicate yes and (66.4%) were male while 350 (33.6%) were female. This no and pick from the available options. indicates that more male than female took part in the Part 2: Extent – Here respondents were expected study. Moreover, the demographic information on the to chose from the option provided e.g. daily, every two respondents’ Faculty reveals that 50 respondents each days, weekly and fortnightly, and to indicate percentages representing (7.6%) were from the Faculties of Art, Basic of posts. Items in this part were adapted from [26]. Medical Science, Business and Social Sciences, and Part 3: Benefits – Here respondents were given Clinical Sciences. The results also reveal that opportunity to list the benefits they derive from respondents from faculty of Communication and participating in the online discussion forum. Information Sciences were, 195 (26.2%), Faculty of Part 4: Problems/Hindrances – Similarly, Education and Law were 100 each (13.4%) while respondents were to indicate the problems they encounter respondents from Faculty of Science were 150 (20.1%). during participation in online forum or what hinder them This suggests that there were more respondents from from participating. Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences than any other faculties that took part in the study. On the age Validity and Reliability distribution of respondents, the results indicate that majority of the respondents (40.3%) fall between the ages The instrument after its development was given of 21 – 25 years. This is followed by respondents between to two experts who have interest in online discussion the ages of 16 – 20 years with (29.8%). Next to this are research. The suggestions and comments by the experts respondents between 26 – 30 years with (21%) while assisted in the moderation and modification of the items respondents in the age group 31 – 35 years and above in the instrument. Moreover, the fact that most items in amounted to (8.9%). the instrument were adapted from previous related studies in part justifies the validity of the instrument. To ensure the reliability of the questionnaire, it was administered on 20 students from Faculty of Agric which did not eventually take part in the study. A test-re-test reliability method of two weeks interval was employed and responses collected were subjected to Cronbach alpha. The overall reliability of the questionnaire returned an r = 0.85 which exceed the minimum standard of 0.80 suggested for basic research [29].

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Table 1: Demographic Information Table 2 reveal results on the organisation of discussion forum for courses in the respondents various faculties and to confirm whether or not respondents have Demographics Frequency Percentage ever at any point in time participated in the online % discussion forum. Surprisingly, all the respondents from Gender Faculty of CIS (26.2%) confirm the fact that there are Male 495 66.4 online forum organised for their various courses while Female 250 33.6 respondents from other faculties indicated no. Similarly, Total 745 100 its only Faculty of CIS where more respondents (26.2%) Faculties indicated ever participated in discussion forum compare Art 50 6.7 to faculty of Science (6.0%), faculty of BMS (4.3%), and Business and Social 50 6.7 Education (3.4%). Other faculties recorded very low Sciences percentage response less than (2.6%). Basic Medical Sciences 50 6.7 The results in table 3 clearly show the types of Clinical Sciences 50 6.7 online discussion forum respondents have been Communication and 195 26.2 participated. Only respondents from Faculty of Information Sciences Communication and Information Sciences indicated Education 100 13 .4 forum organised for various course offered in their faculty and other online forum. On the other hand, other Law 100 13.4 respondents indicated online of their discipline’s Science 150 20.1 association. This suggests that respondents from Total 745 100.0 Communication and Information Sciences are the ones that are really into online discussion forum. This is Age because they also take part in the online forum outside 16 – 20 years 222 29.8 their faculty. 21 - 25 years 300 40.3 26-- 30 years 157 21.0 31—35 years 66 8.9 Total 745 100.0

Table 2: Participation in the Online Forum

Items Art BMS BSS CLS CIS Edu Law Sci. Is there any online YES - - - - 195 - - - discussion forum (0%) (0%) (0%) (0%) (26.2%) (0%) (0%) (0%) organised for courses NO 50 50 50 50 0 (0%) 100 100 150 offered in your (6.7%) (6.7%) (6.7%) (6.7%) (13.4%) (13.4%) (20.1%) faculty? Have you ever YES 10 32 10 20 195 25 20 45 participate in any (1.3%) (4.3%) (1.3%) (2.6%) (26.2%) (3.4%) (2.6%) (6.0%) online discussion NO 40 18 40 30 - 75 80 105 forum before? 5.2% 2.4% 5.2% 3.9% 0% 10.6 % 10.8% 14.1%

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Table 3: Types of Online Discussion Forum

Faculties 1 2 Art Association of Art students Business & Social Science Association of Social Science Students Basic Medical Science Medical Students Forum Clinical Science Medical Students Forum Comm. & Info. Science Forum organised for various courses offered Other personal social discussion in the faculty forum Education Education Students Forum Law Law Students Forum Science Online Forum for Science Students.

Table 4 shows the result on the frequency of basis with (14.5%), followed by Education (5.6%) respondents’ participation in the online discussion forum. percentage and Business and Social Sciences (3.0%). The The results reveal that respondents from faculty of CIS results imply that Faculty of CIS is the only Faculty (24.8%) participate daily. Other faculty daily participation where respondents participate in the online discussion is incomparable to CIS because they have limited daily forum on a daily basis. This is an indication that the percentage of participation. The results also show that on faculty is deeply involved in the use of online discussion every two days, faculty of Science has highest percentage forum than any other faculties. This may be attributed to participation (3.8%), followed by Basic Medical Science the fact that this group have high proficiency in using (3.4%), and Clinical Science (2.0%). Other faculties have computers and consequently find online discussion forum a very low percentage. On a weekly basis, faculty of easier to handle compare to those from other faculties. Science has higher percentage participation with (3.8%). On the other hand, the low percentage participation of Similarly, the same faculty of Science has highest other faculties may be attributed to their tight schedule or percentage participation on a forthright basis with (4.3%) probably because they are not ICT literate or perhaps followed by Education (2.6%). Faculty of Science again have limited access to the Internet. has the highest percentage participation on the monthly

Table 4: Frequency of Participation in the Online Forum

Faculties Art BMS BSS CLS CIS Edu Law Science Daily 2 (0.3%) 17(2.3%) 4(0.7%) 18(2.4%) 185(24.8%) 10(1.3%) 4(0.6%) 20(2.6%) Every 2 days 10 (1.3%) 25(3.4%) 6(0.8%) 15(2.0%) 7 (0.93%) 12(1.6%) 6(0.8%) 28(3.8%) Weekly 4 (0.6%) 8(1.1%) 8(1.1%) 10(0.3%) 1 (0.13%) 16(2.2%) 8(1.1%) 28(3.8%) Fortnightly 10 (1.3%) - (0%) 10(1.3%) 7(0.9%) 2 (0.3%) 20(2.6%) 8(1.1%) 32(4.3%) Monthly 24 (0.3%) - (0%) 22(3.0%) - (0%) - (0%) 42(5.6%) 24(0.3%) 108(14.5%)

The responses by the respondents on the pattern difference exist between the main and the lowest pattern of participation were summarised into four broad of online participation by the respondents with (Chi. categories as shown in Table 5. These are Socratic Square 13.41 at .001 level). Cost of access could be the questioning, reaction posting sharing of personal opinion limiting factor for respondents’ engagement in and experiences and brainstorming. The results based on brainstorming pattern while reluctance could be the frequency count and Friedman Test conducted revealed reason why respondents don’t share their opinion and clearly that Socratic questioning is the pattern that experiences with other course participants. Socratic respondents mostly engaged with 57.1% and Mean Rank questioning seeks to get the other person to answer their of 9.54. This is followed by reaction postings (28.5%, own questions by making them think and drawing out the with Mean Rank of 8.66) and sharing of personal opinion answer from them. Reaction posting simply mean to react and experiences (9.4% with Mean Rank of 7.45) while to a member’s posting. This may take the form of brainstorming is the least pattern with (5.1%, with Mean answering a question or commenting on an issue posted Rank of 4.12). The results also revealed that a significant by someone. Sharing personal opinions and experiences is

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intimating the class or the group members about one’s on a particular issue in addition to one’s own own experiences of the course or an issue while understanding of the issue so as to come up with a fact. brainstorming is seeking ideas and suggestions of others

Table 5: Pattern of Online Participation

S/N Pattern of Online Forum participation Frequency Mean Rank Chi. Square Sign. F. 1 Socratic Questioning (asking questions 425 9.54 about something not clear) 2 Reaction Posting (responding to issues or 212 8.66 questions raised by other colleagues) 13. 41 .001 3 Sharing personal Opinion/Experiences 70 7.45 4 Brainstorming (reasoning together on an 38 4.12 issue to come up with a solution) Total 745 (Chi. Square = 13.41, Df = 21; N = 745; Significant at .001).

To further examine depth of respondents’ On the other hand, percentage of read and no response participation in the online forum, they were asked to postings was higher among Faculty of Art where (70%) of indicate the percentage of posts they read but do not respondents read as much as 60% without any response; respond to. The answer is presented in Table 6. Faculty Business and Social Sciences where (76%) of the Table 6 shows the percentage of post read but respondents read as much as (60%) of the postings not responded to by the respondents. The result reveals without response while (40%) each from Faculties of that limited percentage of respondents (5.1%) read as Education, and Science also read as much as (60%) of the little as 20% of the posts without response in Faculty of postings without response. From Faculty of (70%) read as Communication and Information Sciences (CIS). Limited much as (60%) of the post without response. This percentage of respondents (20%) and (40%) also read as indicates that percentage of read and no response posting little as 40% of the posts without response in Faculty of was minimal in CIS Faculty and higher in other faculties. Basic Medical Science and (44%) in Clinical Sciences.

Table 6: Percentage of Read but no Response Posts

Read but no Art BMS BSS CLS CIS Edu Law Science response posts 20% - - - - 10 (5.1%) - - - 40% - 20 (40%) - 22 (16%) - - - - 60% 35 (70%) - 38 (76%) - - 40 40%) 70 (70%) 90 (60%) 80% ------90% ------Total 50 50 50 50 195 100 100 150

Moreover, table consider the percentage of read posting on the forum. In Faculty of Business and Social and response/no response posts. The result is presented in Sciences, (76%) read usually read and not respond to table 7. posting while (24%) indicate reading and respond to all Table 7 reveals the percentage of posts read and posts received. In Faculty of Clinical Science, (44%) read no response posts by the respondents. The result shows and not respond to posting while (56%) usually does. In that (70%) read and does not respond to postings while Faculty of CIS, limited percentage of respondents (5.1%) (30%) read and respond to postings in Faculty of Art. In read without any response to postings from colleagues Faculty of Basic Medical Science, (40%) read and do not while (94.9%) read and response to all postings. The respond to postings while (60%) read and response to all results reveal further that (70%) of the respondents from

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Faculty of Law and (90%) from Science read posting and response posting (94.9%) were from Faculty of CIS. without any response while (30%) and (40%) from the This is an indication that respondents from CIS faculty two Faculties do read and respond to all posts received. are participating in online discussion forum than all other The results indicate that considerable percentage of read faculties.

Table 7: Comparison of Percentage of Read no Response and Response Posts

Faculties Art BMS BSS CLS CIS Edu Law Science Read but no 35(70%) 20 (40%) 38 22 (44%) 10 (5.1%)) 60 70 90 (60%) response posts (76%) (60%) (70%) Read and 15 (30%) 30 (60%) 12(24%) 28 (56%) 185(94.9%) 40(40%) 30(30%) 60 (40%) response posts Total 50 50 50 50 195 100 100 150

the items provided for the respondents to respond to, other Benefits of online Forum benefits identified by the respondents are: Interactions On the benefits of participating in the online with other students in the online discussion forums forum, the result based on frequency count and Friedman challenge me to critically reflect on the discussion topics, Test conducted reveals seven most prominent benefits in interactions with other students in the online discussion the following order. Encouraging intellectual support in forums encourage me to continue participating in the terms of sharing of ideas (98.7%, Mean Rank of 9.87), discussion forums and interactions with other students in introvert free expression of opinion (95.8%, Mean Rank the online discussion forums encourage me to be more of 9.32), students participate more than in a face to face active in the discussion forums in terms of writing more class (94.0%, Mean Rank of 9.25), promotion of social and/or longer postings. To show the level of significant of interaction 92.8%, Mean Rank of 8.56), opportunity of each of the benefit identified, Chi-Square analysis was asking colleagues what is not clear (91.0%, Mean Rank performed. The results further indicate that all the benefits of 8.33), provide motivation to be involved with the identified by the respondents are significant with (Chi- course content (85.9%, Mean Rank of 7.80). Asides of Square 20.66, Df. 21 and at .001 level).

Table 8: Benefits of Participation in Online Forum N =745

S/N Benefits Freq. Mean Chi. Sign. Rank Square F 1. Encourages intellectual support (sharing of knowledge and 735 9.87 ideas) between participants. 2. Enables introvert to freely air and express their own opinion. 714 9.32 3. In a class situation, it increased students’ participation in 700 9.25 18.15 .001 teaching and learning than what obtain in a face-to-face instructional setting . 4. Promote social interaction between group members and 691 8.56 course participants 5. Provide opportunity to freely ask colleagues what is not clear 678 8.33 7. Motivation to become more involved with the course 640 7.80 content/topic of discussion.

Table 9 reveals results on the perceived impact forum would help their learning. On the other hand, of participating in the discussion forum on the (6.7%) disagree and strongly disagreed while (2.0%) were respondents learning and performance. Using neutral. Furthermore, the results indicate that (92.1%) percentages and frequency count, the results indicate that strongly and agree that participating in the forum has (91.2%) strongly agree and agree that participating in the improved their learning performance. On the other hand,

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(5.3%) disagree and strongly disagreed while (2.6%) were neutral. Finally, (94.1%) submit that overall, discussion neutral. Additionally, the result reveals that (91.1%) forum has contributed immensely to the improvement of indicate responding to other peoples’ posting is increasing their GPA and general performance in all the courses. their reasoning and retention ability while (5.4%) disagree These results summarily indicate that majority of the and strongly disagreed. So also, (92.6%) submit that respondents on this study perceived that participating in contributing to the brainstorming and other activities on the online discussion has really contributed to their the forum is deepening their knowledge of the courses; learning performance and this has eventually increased (4.1%) disagree and strongly disagreed while (3.4%) were their GPA.

Table 9: Perceived Impact of Discussion Forum on Student Learning and Performance N =195

S/N Items SA A N D SD 1 I believe that participating in the forum would help my learning 425 255 15 30 20 (57.1%) (34.2%) (2.0%) (4.0%) (2.7%) 2 Participating in discussion forum has improved my learning 390 296 19 29 11 performance. (52.4%) (39.7%) (2.6%) (3.8%) (1.5%) 3. Receiving and responding to other peoples’ posting is increasing 402 276 27 20 20 my reasoning, retention and intellectual ability (54.0%) (37.1%) (3.6%) (2.7%) (2.7%) 4. Contributing to the brainstorming and other activities on the 384 306 25 17 13 forum is deepening my knowledge of the courses. (51.5%) (41.1%) (3.4%) (2.3%) (1.8%) 5. Overall, discussion forum has contributed a lot to the 435 266 14 15 15 improvement of my GPA and general performance in all the (58.4%) (35.7%) (1.9%) (2.0%) (2.0%) courses.

(93.2% with a Mean Rank of 7.67). Findings also Problems of Online Forum indicated that some respondents usually become unruly in terms of posting excessive joking and flaming with Table 10 reveals the problems and hindrances to (90.6% and with a Mean Rank of 7.67), and slow the respondents’ participation in the online forum. The connectivity (73.8% with a Mean Rank of 6.68) while result shows the issue of incessant power outage as the inadequate knowledge and skills to use the Internet (60.4 most prominent problem. This was indicated by (98.7%, % and Mean Rank of 4.12). Aside of the problems with a Mean Rank of 9.72) of the respondents. Following included in the table, other problems identified by the this immediately is the problem of time factor indicated respondents were: difficulty in enhancing social by (96.6%, with a Mean Rank of 9.16). The respondents interaction based on the fact that most people are (94.2%, with a Mean Rank of 8.95) indicated limited participating in the discussion forums because of the access to computers and Internet. Furthermore, cost of assessment requirements. access to computers and the Internet was indicated by

Table 10: Problems of Participation in Online Forum N =745

S/N Problems Freq. Mean Chi- Sign. F Rank Square 1 Incessant Power outage 735 9.72 2 Time factor based on tight schedule 720 9.16 3 Limited access to computers and Internet 702 8.95 4 Cost of Access 694 7.67 17.24 .001 5 Participants become "unruly" if anonymous (e.g. excessive joking) 675 7.22 6 Slow connectivity 550 6.68 7 Inadequate knowledge and skills to use the Internet. 450 4.12

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the moment except the Internet. This may also be another DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS responsible factor. This study identified some of the benefits This study has established the pattern of derived by the participant in their participation in the undergraduate participation in the online discussion forum forum as encouragement of intellectual support in terms and through data collection and analysis; the four research of sharing of knowledge and ideas between participants, questions developed have been answered. The finding that introvert free expression of opinion, students participate Socratic questioning, sharing of personal opinion, reaction more than in a face to face class, promotion of social posting and brainstorming are the major pattern of interaction, opportunity of asking colleagues what is not participation demonstrated by the respondents in this clear and others as the most common benefits. The result study is not a co-incidence. This is because the finding is in agreement with the finding by [20] who indicated correspond with the earlier findings [e.g. 33] who that online discussion that are relevant to the taught investigated participation patterns, users' contributions subject can increase the participation levels of the and gratification mechanisms with the reported that: (1) students and possibly enhance the learning process. Participation patterns reveal two distinct participation Similarly, [2] report online discussion forum has types - "project creators" and "social participators". significant positive effect on students’ participation and Though the pattern established by these two studies interaction, and learning, when used along with traditional differs considerably. However, one thing that is pertinent classroom lecture; together with t he report by [21] who is that there are types or patterns of participation in the found that students perceived greater quality and quantity online discussion forum and this has been confirmed in of learning as a result of participating in the discussions this study. forum confirm the benefits of online discussion forum The finding that revealed a great extent of identified in this study. participation in the online forum with the majority making Just like the previous related studies, the current postings on a daily basis is also in consonant with the study also revealed some identifiable problems report by [20] that participant in their study on dedicated encountered by the participants in the online forum. These social and games discussion forums attracted 54% of the are incessant power outage and time factor based on tight total postings for the module. This great extent of schedule, limited access to computers and Internet, cost of participation revealed in this study may be due to the access to computers and the Internet, participants factors identified such as expectancy on hedonic outcome becoming unruly in terms of posting excessive joking and and utilitarian outcome and peer pressure identified by flaming, inadequate knowledge and skills to use the [31]. Similarly, the perceived importance of learning and Internet and others. This result correspond with [19] who utilitarian outcome expectancy and participation intention indicated the constraint in online tutorials relates to slow may also be other responsible factors. In addition, the feedback from tutors to students, access, costs, and major reasons summed up as “generally getting used to computer skills. Contrarily, [27] revealed technology and something new, encouragement from instructor and interface characteristics, content area experience, student understanding how important discussions were for roles and instructional tasks, and information overload learning” identified by [18] also lend credence to this while [28] who examined the nature of interaction in an current finding. Still on the extent of participation, the online course from both teacher and student perspectives; report by [26] that majority of the students read concluded that the structure of course, class size, somewhere between 70 to 80 percent of the posts; while feedback, and prior knowledge of computer mediated the range of posts that were read but not responded to communication all affected the interaction in the online was wider, 40 to 90 percent also support or confirm the forum. This confirms the fact that there are problems present finding. Reasons stated for not responding to the associated with online discussion forum irrespective of posts was not having time to respond. This also who, where, when, what and the nature of the corroborates the current findings relating to number of contribution. post read but not responded revealed in this study. Conversely, [19] findings that there was low participation of students in online tutorials, in terms of students’ RECOMMENDATIONS contribution to online discussion forum contradict the There is need for more success story in the present finding of this study. This variation may be due to online discussion forum at the Faculty of Communication the platform used for the discussion forum. The and Information Science, University of Ilorin. This is to University of Ilorin, Nigeria where the present study was say that increase participation in terms of creating online conducted does not have a particular platform in place at forum for all courses in the faculty with the lecturer

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playing their effectively as facilitators. For this to happen SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER there is need for the students to be effective communicator. The use and practice of chat, email, STUDIES feedback on assignments, sharing examples and instant Future researchers may consider looking into the messaging as put forward by [2] can help in this direction. area of factors promoting students participation in the It should be noted that online discussion forum is online forum in the Nigeria context. very porous as anyone can post X number of times, but The role played by lecturers and their impact in this doesn’t ensure that students are learning anything. terms of facilitating and promoting effective participation Twenty irrelevant interactions are not nearly as effective on the part of the learners could also be look into. for promoting student learning as one or two insightful, relevant comments or questions that stimulate critical thinking and active exploration of course material. In the CONCLUSION light of this, students are called upon to contribute So far the study has examined the pattern of meaningfully to the forum as this can go a long way to undergraduate participation in the online discussion forum enhance their performance. and the results have indicated that majority of the The study has revealed the pattern of students’ respondents are participating in the online forum and they participation in the online forum in term of the frequency dully committed to it. Four prominent pattern of of use and the rest. In the light of this, there is need for participation were identified by the respondents. These more students’ motivation on the part of the lecturers. are Socratic questioning, sharing of personal opinion and This will enables students who have not been fully experiences, reaction posting and brainstorming. involved in it to do so. This they can do by making sure Furthermore, the study revealed a great extent of that they are providing immediate feedback on students’ participation in the online forum with the majority making postings and clarifications. Moreover, they can also make postings on a daily basis. Similarly, considerable number use of token reinforcement such as ‘good posting’ of respondents usually read and responds to all posts ‘brilliant idea’ ‘fantastic contribution’, etc. These can received. The results confirm encouragement of motivate them to increase their participation. intellectual support in terms of sharing of knowledge and Moreover, the results have indicated that only ideas between participants and others as the most respondents from the Faculty of Communication and common benefits. Incessant power outage and time factor Information Sciences are deeply involved in the online based on tight schedule and others were identified as the discussion forum. This is connected with the various problems participants encounter in the online forum. online discussion forum organised for the various courses offered in the faculty. In the light of this, other faculties in the university should consider borrowing leave from REFERENCES faculty of CIS by organising online discussion forum for [1] Asunka, S., “Online Learning in Higher Education their courses. This will better facilitate interaction in Sub-Saharan Africa: Ghanaian University between course tutors and the students thereby students' experiences and perceptions”, contributing to and deepens students’ knowledge of the International Review of Research in Open and courses. Distance Learning, Volume 9, Number 3, 2008, In order to improve students’ participation in the pp. 1-23. online forum, the University authority should provide [2] Balaji, M.S.. & Chakrabarti, D ., “Student enough free internet facilities outlets within the university Interactions in Online Discussion Forum: Empirical community just as it is done in developed countries. Research from ‘Media Richness Theory’ This study might serve to be the first of its kind Perspective”, Journal of Interactive online in Nigeria as far as the use of online discussion forum is Learning, Volume 9, Number.1, 2010, pp. 1-21. concern to facilitate and deepened students’ knowledge courses offered. In the light of this, other universities in [3] Babbie, E., “The Practice of Social Research”, Nigeria, Africa and outside Africa should consider the use (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, of online forum in the teaching of their courses 2004, pp. 205-210. considering the benefits indicated associated with it in this [4] Blau,I., Mor,N., & Neuthal, T., “Open the study. Windows of Communication: Promoting Interpersonal and Group Interactions Using Blogs in Higher Education”, Interdisciplinary Journal of

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E-Learning and Learning Objects, Volume 5, 2009, [15] Hodgkinson-Williams, C., & Mostert, M., “ Online pp. 233-246. debating to encourage student participation in [5] Caspi, A., Chajut, E., Saporta, K., & Beyth-Marom, online learning environments: A qualitative case R., “The influence of personality on social study at a South African university”, International participation in learning environments”, Learning Journal of Education and Development using and Individual Differences , Volume. 16, Number Information and Communication Technology 2, 2006, pp. 129-144. (IJEDICT) Volume 1, Number. 2, 2005, pp. 94- [6] Cheong, W.S., & Hew, K.F., “Attracting student 104. participation in asynchronous online discussions: A [16] Hrastinski, S., “What is online learner case study of peer facilitation” Computers and participation? A literature review”, Computers & Education, Volume. 51, Number. 3, 2008, pp.1111- Education , Volume 51, Number 4, 2008, pp. 1755– 1124. 1765. [7] Davies., J. & Graff, M., “Performance in e- [17] Kear, K. L., & Heap, N. W., “Sorting the wheat learning: online participation and student grades”, from the chaff: investigating overload in British Journal of Educational Technology , educational discussion systems” Journal of Volume. 36, Numbers 4, 2005, pp. 657–664. Computer Assisted Learning, Volume 23, Number [8] Garrison, D. R., “Computer conferencing: the post- 3, 2007, pp. 235-247. industrial age of distance education ”, Open [18] Laurillard, D., “ Rethinking university teaching” Learning : The Journal of Open and Distance Routledge, London, 1993, pp 25-50. Learning, Volume 12, Number. 2, 1997, pp 3-11. [19] Maya, M.B., & Zuhairi, A., “ Students’ [9] Giannini-Gachago, D., & Seleka, G., “Experiences participation in online learning in business courses with international online discussions: Participation at University Terbuka, Indonesia”, Available: patterns of Botswana and American students in an http://www.ou.nl/Docs/Campagnes/ICDE2009/Pap Adult Education and Development course at the ers/Final_paper_054mayamaria.pdf [ 2009]. University of Botswana”, International Journal of [20] Peachey, P; Jones, P &. Jones, A. “Encouraging Education and Development using Information and Student Participation in an Online Course Using Communication Technology (IJEDICT) Volume 1, ‘Pull’ Initiatives” Electronic Journal of E-learning Number 2, 2005, pp. 163-184. EJEL . Available: http://www.ejel.org/volume-4/v4- [10] Godwin, S. J., Thorpe M. S., & Richardson, J. T. i1/peachey-paul-et-al.pdf [2006]. E., “ The impact of computer-mediated interaction [21] Picciano, A. G., “Beyond student perceptions: on distance learning”, British Journal of Issues of interaction, presence, and performance in Educational Technology , Volume 39, Number 1, an online course” Journal of Asynchronous 2008, pp. 52- 70. Learning Networks, Volume 6, Number 1, 2002, [11] Johnson, G. M., “Synchronous and asynchronous pp. 2140. text-based CMC in educational contexts: a review [22] Prinsen, F., Volman, M. L. L., & Terwel, J., “The of recent research” TechTrends Volume 50, influence of learner characteristics on degree and Number 4, 2006, pp. 46-53. type of participation in a CSCL environment”, [12] Harris, N., & Sandor, M., “ Student views on British Journal of Educational Technology , participation and interaction in student centred Volume 38, Number 6, 2007, pp.1037–1055. online discussion forums” ASCLITE, Melbourne, [23] Rafaeli, S., & Ariel, Y., “Online motivational Australia, 2008, pp 25-59. factors: Incentives for participation and [13] Harris, N. & Sandor, M. “Developing online contribution in Wikipedia”, In A. Barak (Ed.), discussion forums as student centred peer e- Psychological aspects of cyberspace: Theory, learning environments”, In ICT: Providing choices research, applications. Cambridge University for learners and learning. Proceedings ASCILITES Press, 2008, pp. 78-90. Singapore 2007. [24] Roblyer M.D. & Ekhaml, L. “How interactive are http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/singapore07 your distance courses? A rubric for assessing /procs/harris.pdf [May, 2007]. interaction in distance learning”, Online Journal of [14] Ho, S., “Evaluating students' participation in on- Distance Learning Adminstration , Volume. 3, line discussions” Available: Number 2, 2000. Retrieved May 5, 2004, from http://ausweb.scu.edu.au/aw02/papers/refereed/ho/p http://www.westga.edu/~distance/roblyer32.html aper.html [2002]. [25] Rovai, A. P., & Barnum, K. T., “On-line course effectiveness: An analysis of student interactions

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and perceptions of learning” Journal of Distance such as Nigerian Library Association (NLA) and the Education, Volume. 18 Number 1, 2003, pp. 57-73. Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). [26] Virk, B., “A Balancing Act: Improving Student Online Discussion Participation”, Available: Adeyinka Tella is a Senior Lecturer in the http://itdl.org/journal/jun_04/index.htm [2004]. Department of Library and Information Science, Faculty [27] Vonderwell, S., & Zachariah, S., “ Factors that of Communication and Information Sciences, University influence participation in online learning”, Journal of Ilorin, Nigeria. Tella is a Commonwealth Scholar who of Research on Technology in Education , Volume finished his PhD in September 2009 from the Department 38, Number 2, 2005, pp. 213-230. of Library and Information Studies, University of [28] Vrasidas, C., & McIsaac, M., “Factors influencing Botswana. He is one of the contributors to an information interaction in an online course”, The American science reference “Cases on Successful E-learning Journal of Distance Education, Volume 13, Practices in the Developed and Developing World: Number 3, 1999, pp. 22–36. Methods for the Global Information Economy”. [29] Wang, S., & Tang, T. I., (2003), “Assessing Currently, he is the Associate Editor International Journal customer perceptions of Web sites service quality of Library and Information Science, and Editor-in-Chief- in digital marketing environments”, Journal of End International Journal of Information Processing and User Computing Volume 15 Number 3, 2003, Communication. He is also editorial board member, for pp.14–31. Library Philosophy and Practice. Tella is an external [30] Wishart, C., & Guy, R. (2009), “ Analyzing examiner for Library and Information Science PhD responses, moves, and roles in online discussions”, candidates at the Annamalai University and Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Bharathidasan University, Trichy, both in India. His re- Learning Objects Volume 5, 2009, pp. 129-144. search areas include e-learning, information literacy, Available information communication technology and management, http://ijello.org/Volume5/IJELLOv5p129- information system evaluation and psychology of 144Wishart658.pdf information. [31] Yang, X; Li, Y; Tan, C.H, & Teo, H.H., “Students' participation intention in an online discussion forum: Why is computer-mediated interaction attractive?”, Information and Management Volume 44, Number 5, 2007, pp.456 – 466. [32] Yukselturk, E. “An investigation into the factors affecting students’ participation level in an online discussion forum” The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology Volume 9, Number 2, 2010, pp. 24-32 [33] Zuckerman, O; Blau, I. &Monroy-Hernández, A., “Children's Participation Patterns in Online Communities: An Analysis of Israeli Learners in the Scratch Online Community”, Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects, Volume 5, 2009, pp. 263-274.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES Abdulmumin Isah is a Lecturer in the Department of Library and Information Science, University of Ilorin, Nigeria. He holds Diploma in Library Science, Bachelor of Library and Information Science and Master’s of Library and Information Studies. He has previously worked as Graduate Research Assistant on World Bank Research Project at the , Nigeria and College Librarian at the Nigerian Television College, Jos. He is a member of professional associations

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APPENDIX

Online Discussion Forum Questionnaire Instructions: Please answer each statement below by putting a circle around the number that best reflects your degree of agreement or disagreement with that statement. Do not think too long about the exact meaning of the statements. Work quickly and try to answer as accurately as possible. There are no right or wrong answers.

SECTION A: BIO-DATA INFORMATION Your Faculty...... Expected Degree...... Year of Study...... Age...... Gender......

Now respond to the following items by ticking from the options provided.

SECTION B Is there any online forum organised for courses offered in your faculty? YES NO

Have you ever participate in any online discussion forum before?

YES NO

Do you regularly participate in the online forum organised for your various courses?

YES NO

Pattern of Participation Which of the under listed best describe the nature of your posting? Please tick one Socratic Questioning (asking questions about something that is not clear) Reaction Posting (responding to issues or questions raised by other colleagues). Sharing personal Opinion/Experiences Brainstorming (reasoning together on an issue to come up with a solution).

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How often do you participate in the forum? Please tick as applicable. Daily Every Two Days Weekly Fortnightly Monthly

Please indicate the Percentage of posts you received and read but do not response to Read but no Response Posts Percentage % in % 20 % 40% 60% 80% 90%

Please indicate the Percentage of posts you received, read and response to Read but no Response Posts Percentage % in % 20 % 40% 60% 80% 90%

Which of the statements in the box do you consider as benefits of participating in the online forum? Please tick as applicable. Benefits of Participation in Online Forum S/N Benefits YES NO

1. Encourages intellectual support (sharing of knowledge and ideas) between participants. 2. Enables introvert to freely air and express their own opinion. 3. Increased students’ participation in teaching and learning than what obtain in a face-to-face instructional setting . 4. Promote social interaction between course participants 5. Provide opportunity to freely ask colleagues what is not clear 7. Motivation to become more involved with the course content.

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Respond to the items in the table below by picking from the options Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree Perceived Impact of Discussion Forum on Student Learning and Performance

S/N Items SA A N D SD 1 I believe that participating in the forum would help my learning 2 Participating in discussion forum has improved my learning performance. 3. Receiving and responding to other peoples’ posting is increasing my reasoning, retention and intellectual ability 4. Contributing to the brainstorming and other activities on the forum is deepening my knowledge of the courses. 5. Overall, discussion forum has contributed a lot to the improvement of my GPA and general performance in all the courses.

Which of the statements in the box do you considered as problem of participating in the online forum? Tick as applicable. Problems of Participation in Online Forum S/N Problems YES NO 1 Incessant Power outage 2 Time factor based on tight schedule 3 Limited access to computers and Internet 4 Cost of Access 5 Participants become "unruly" if anonymous (e.g. excessive joking) 6 Slow connectivity 7 Inadequate knowledge and skills to use the Internet.

Others, please specify......

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